


Countdown

by starryeyedchar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 21:54:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12285120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedchar/pseuds/starryeyedchar
Summary: “Hey, Pidge, where's that beeping coming from?" Lance asked. "I don't need it throwing off my focus, this is kind of an important mission.”“Beeping?” He heard Pidge typing something in her computer. “You haven't set off any alarms, so I wouldn't worry about it. Do you want me to try to shut it off? Probably just some system on the fritz from our tech, nothing that'll alert them.”“That's fine, don't risk hacking in again. I'll just ignore it.”Lance is sent on a mission to rescue Keith, who has been in Galra custody for three days. Everything seems to be going well at first, but he soon runs into some... complications.In other words, Keith wishes that defusing bombs had been part of paladin training.





	Countdown

The plan had been going flawlessly.

Key word being _had_.

Shiro and Lance were both searching opposite sides of the base for their captured teammate, and Pidge and Hunk were too occupied giving Shiro directions through the maze-like corridors that they neglected to warn Lance of the approaching Galra heat signature.

A cat blocked his path in the hall, staring at him with large, yellow eyes. It didn't move to attack, but it also didn't run away.

“Um... guys?” Lance tried over the coms, lowering his gun just a bit. He wasn't about to shoot a _cat_ , but he still wanted to be on guard.

He didn't hear the Galra behind him until her hand was on his shoulder.

That was mistake number _one_.

Lance whirled around to see a face missing eyes, that one general of Lotor's with the tail. He didn't know her name.

He tried to scramble back, but then her hand glowed with a strange light, and his vision darkened.

* * *

Lance came back to his senses to the voices of his friends shouting in his ears.

“I'm fine,” he said immediately, before taking stock to see if it was actually true.

“Thank goodness,” Hunk whispered. He sounded like he'd been crying, and Lance felt guilt stab at him.

“Lance, what _happened_?” Pidge demanded. “You just... you didn't respond! It's been almost twenty minutes!”

“Twenty...?” Lance looked around. The lady who'd attacked him and her cat were both nowhere in sight. How had he been out for twenty minutes? “I'm... not sure what happened, actually. There was this cat, and then a Galra lady snuck up on me—”

“Narti?” Pidge interrupted, sounding even more concerned. “No eyes, and a tail? What'd she do? Are you okay? Are you injured?”

“I said, I'm fine,” Lance gave himself a quick once over. No damaged armor, no pain from injuries. All good, then. “I don't know what she did, but I'm not injured.”

_Two_.

Lance could practically hear the uneasiness over the com. “Well, that's good... but...” Hunk trailed off, clearly unsure how to respond.

“But she wouldn't have done that to you for no reason,” Pidge finished for him. “We'll... we'll scan you in a pod when you get back to be safe, but for now keep going. We're pretty sure he's on your side of the ship. Shiro hasn't found anything in the cell blocks over there; all empty. He's heading back to us with Allura in Blue now, so you can hopefully stay under the radar in the east wing.”

Lance felt a knot settle in the pit of his stomach. “But... Allura said that we know he's here, right? The scans she took with the castle picked up his signature?”

“His armor is here,” Pidge corrected. “But the tracker isn't specific enough to pick up the exact location. Remember, he could be somewhere else. Tracking his bayard didn't help, as they'd sent it to another base altogether.”

“Right,” Lance said, trying to crush his hope. They might not find him. Still, he didn't think he'd be able to take it if this wound up being another dead end.

Keith had been captured by the Galra three days ago.

_Three days_.

And, okay, maybe it wasn't that much in the grand scope of things, but it felt like years to Lance. The longest anyone on their team had been captured before was Allura, when they'd rescued her the day after she was taken. Lance had been locked up for just over twelve hours once, so he knew firsthand that the Galra were... efficient when it came to managing their time while keeping high security prisoners.

But three _days_?

What if they didn't even find Keith _alive_?

Lance tried to put that out of his head as soon as he thought it. They wouldn't kill a paladin of Voltron, not without getting the lion first. Black was safe in the castle with Hunk, Pidge, their lions, and Coran. Red was hiding outside the base, ready to fly the both of them to safety. Allura had already retrieved Shiro with Blue.

So, as long as all the lions were accounted for, Keith should be safe.

Well, not _safe_. But breathing. Lance hoped.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft beeping noise, barely audible. It was continuous, but so quiet Lance hadn't noticed it until then. The sound repeated itself once every second... no, tick. Slower than seconds.

“Hey, Pidge, where's that beeping coming from? I don't need it throwing off my focus, this is kind of an important mission.”

“Beeping?” He heard Pidge typing something in her computer. “You haven't set off any alarms, so I wouldn't worry about it. Do you want me to try to shut it off? Probably just some system on the fritz from our tech, nothing that'll alert them.”

“That's fine, don't risk hacking in again. I'll just ignore it.”

_Three_.

Entering into the cell block, Lance was immediately confronted by sentries, armed with an array of weapons.

“Great,” Lance muttered under his breath. “Well, that's just _perfect_ , isn't it?”

“What was that?” Pidge asked, reminding him that his two teammates could still hear everything he said.

“Uh... nothing, just a few sentries. Nothing I can't handle.” As he said this, he used his jetpack and pushed off the ground, launching himself to the nearest ledge and activating his bayard along the way. “Think that means he's here?”

“There were virtually no guards on Shiro's side, so they must be there for something,” Pidge mused. “Wish I could shut them off through the system, but it seems like they all function independently. Check all the cells once you take care of those robots. Can you handle them yourself, or do you need Allura to get Shiro to you?”

“Nah, I got this,” Lance said, aiming his rifle. “These guys aren't very good shots, and I'm already at a vantage point. It'll just take me a minute to take all of them out.”

He wasted no time in mowing the sentries down with his rifle. Lance always went for precise shots to the head, which allowed him to take down a guard with every shot, if not two.

As the guards noticed his location, several began firing his way, and it was getting harder and harder to dodge around every laser. The guns they used were much faster than what he was used to, and with the limited power of his jet pack, the ledge he waited on wasn't high enough to be out of range of even the smallest blaster. It also didn't give him a lot of elbow room.

“Pidge,” Lance spoke up, dodging yet another shot flying his way. “Since when do these guys have different kinds of firearms?”

A moment of silence on the other end. “That's new,” she finally said.

“Are you okay?” Hunk asked, voice carrying his worry. “Did they hit you?”

“I'm fine,” Lance assured him, with an eye roll. “Do you guys seriously have that little faith in me? I've quiznaked half these guys already, but—”

Pidge snorted. “Lance, I'm learning the Altean language, and I _strongly_ suggest you look into the actual meaning of that word.”

“ _Still_ ,” Lance continued, as if she hadn't spoken. “I can't use my shield and bayard at the same time, and I'm way outnumbered over here. It's just going to take a little time. But I've got it," he promised. To prove his point, he raised his voice to a shout. “TEN DOWN, TEN TO GO!”

He lined up another shot with his rifle, but then he heard something.

“L-Lance?”

He'd know that voice _anywhere_.

Lance immediately looked up from his scope, searching for where it had come from. He was here, he was _alive_ , close enough that he could hear his voice. It was almost too good to be true. “Keith? Is that—?!”

His question descended into a yelp as a sharp pain coursed through him. His side felt like it'd been lit on fire, and looking down he could already see the blood seeping from the torn edges of armor.

The wound wasn't very deep, just a graze from a laser that had seared right through the black flight suit under his armor. Nothing life threatening, but just bad enough that he'd probably need to get in a pod once everything was said and done.

Stupid blood loss.

Lance mentally cursed himself for not being more careful. Hearing Keith's voice had shocked him out of his focus, sure, but he couldn't afford to be reckless. Not when _saving_ him was what hung in the balance.

“Lance?” Pidge spoke up over the coms, sounding preoccupied. He could still hear a faint typing. “What was that? You okay?”

“I heard Keith,” Lance replied, completely brushing off her question. This tactic worked like a charm, as the overjoyed reactions of his teammates completely put the question of Lance's wellbeing out of their minds. “I'm going to get him out of here.”

Lance set about destroying the rest of the sentries, but now that he knew Keith was at least well enough to speak it was as if he'd been kicked into overdrive. He couldn't even feel the pain from his side. Sure, that could be chalked up to adrenaline, but if it meant rescuing Keith? Lance was prepared to ignore an injury ten times that size.

Well, with an injury ten times that size he'd probably bleed out but... still.

Soon enough, the sentries were all taken care of, and Lance wasted no time in getting back onto the ground. “KEITH?! KEITH, WHERE ARE YOU, I'M HERE!”

“Lance? That's... that _is_ you, right?”

Lance's heart lifted and sank at the same time. Keith sounded like he was trying not to get his hopes up.

“ _Yes_ , yes, it's me, it's Lance, we came to save you,” Lance promised, starting towards where he could hear his voice. “Keep talking, I need to know which one's your cell.” He picked up the arm of a fallen robot off the ground.

“I was...” A short, shaky laugh. “I was starting to think you guys weren't coming. That you'd just... abandoned me.”

Lance's eyes stung. “We'd never abandon you, Keith. We're a team, remember? A good team.” He pressed the arm to the keypad beside the cell door he'd heard Keith behind, and it slid open. “Sorry we took so long.”

Keith blinked up at him owlishly, mouth slightly agape. He was absolutely covered in bruises, but there was nothing potentially fatal or permanent.

Well, of course not. They wanted to keep him alive, after all. But he'd most likely been tortured, and probably not given any food or water.

Lance shoved down his anger. Keith was alive, and he had to get him out. That's what mattered right now.

“You're... you're really here,” Keith whispered, still in disbelief.

“Well, of course I am,” Lance said, forcing a grin. “I know how impatient you get. Can't keep our fearless leader waiting for long now, can I? Um, can... can you stand?”

Keith pushed himself up, using the wall for support, but the second he tried to take a step he practically collapsed into Lance's arms. He grimaced. “S-sorry...”

“Hey, it's fine,” Lance assured him. He quickly scooped Keith up into his arms, bridal style. “I owe you a bonding moment, anyway.”

If Lance didn't know any better, he'd say Keith was blushing.

Suddenly, Keith's breath hitched, and Lance tensed.

“What is it? What's wrong?”

“You're bleeding,” Keith said, staring down at Lance's side.

“Just a graze, I'll be fine,” Lance waved him off with a smile. “Jeez, two feet out of a Galra prison cell and you're already worrying about _me_.”

“Someone has to,” Keith muttered under his breath.

Lance snorted. “Fair enough. Here, take this,” he handed Keith his already activated bayard. “I know you're a terrible shot, but I can't fight if I'm carrying you, and I don't want to be defenseless, even if I'm pretty sure I took down all the sentries already.”

“I'm not _that_ bad of a shot,” Keith grumbled, but he took the blaster. He looked around at all the fallen robots. “Are these the only ones they had stationed out here?”

“ _Only_?!”

“It just... it feels too easy...” Keith murmured, but shook his head as if to clear it. “Anyway... where are the others?”

“Waiting for us at the castle. Just gotta get to Red and I can fly us back.” Lance started back through the base, Keith in his arms, walking quickly but quietly so as not to attract attention. “Pidge, could you guide me back? I've got him.”

This statement was met with cheers from both Hunk and Pidge, who immediately switched channels to give Allura, Shiro, and Coran the news. All the while, Lance continued down the dimly lit corridors of the ship.

“What's the beeping sound?” Keith asked abruptly. “It's driving me _crazy_.”

Lance had almost forgotten it was there. He shrugged. “Pidge said no alarms were triggered, so I wouldn't worry about it. Besides, we're almost to Red.” As if on cue, turning the next corner presented them with that familiar red glow Lance had come to love so much. It reminded him of someone. “Ah, we were just talking about you, gorgeous!”

Keith rolled his eyes, but the Red Lion seemed to purr in response.

Once inside, Lance carefully deposited Keith on the floor before jumping into the pilot's chair and starting up the controls. He took off his helmet, dropping it onto the ground beside him. “You know, Keith, you're pretty heavy for such a short guy, even after being nearly starved for two days.”

Keith glared at the back of Lance's head. “It's called muscle, Lance. Maybe you should get some.”

Lance laughed at the unexpected zinger. “Woah, who's the one who just carried you all the way here? I have plenty of muscle, thank you _very_ much.”

“You _just_ said that it was hard to do that!”

“I never said anything of the kind.”

Keith groaned, but Lance didn't seem to hear him as Red quite literally roared to life.

“And _what_ is that noise?” Keith wondered again. “I thought you said it was in the base, but it's gotten louder in here!”

“I dunno, ask Pidge! Maybe it's her doing!” Lance looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at Keith. “Have you always been this cranky, or did I just forget in the past three days?”

“Maybe I'm _cranky_ because I've... been...” Keith trailed off, eyes going wide as they snagged on Lance's neck. “Lance. What's that?”

“What's what?” He glanced down, surprised to find that there was a... something around his neck. It had apparently been hidden by his helmet while he wore it, but now when he looked down it was in clear view. A strange, metal box with wires attached that he now could feel wrapped around his neck. It had a timer on it.

And it was counting down.

“Is that...” Keith swallowed, still completely frozen. “That better not be what I think it is.”

“No, no, there's no way,” Lance said immediately. “This is impossible, there's no way it could've even gotten... oh no.”

“ _Oh no_?! What the _fuck_ do you mean, 'oh no', Lance?! How could you forget that someone put a... how _that_ ended up on your neck!?”

“I didn't forget, I— it must've been Narti! I ran into her but... but I didn't think that she'd done anything. I couldn't even see the stupid bomb until now!” That's when it finally hit him. He stumbled backwards into the' control panel, sinking onto the floor. “Oh, god. _Oh my god_ , there's... Keith, there's a bomb... _get it off_!” He instinctively reached up to touch it, but Keith shot forward and grabbed his arm.

“Don't touch it, dumbass! What if it goes off?!”

Lance stared down at the bomb, then back up at him. His eyes welled up with tears. “I'm going to die,” he whispered. “Aren't I?”

Keith's jaw clenched. “No,” he said firmly. “Absolutely not. Not on my watch.”

Lance was unable to stop the sob as it tore up his throat. “Keith—”

“No!” Keith insisted, pressing the button on the projection communicator. The one they were only supposed to use for emergencies. “Pidge, Hunk, come in. There's... there's a bomb.”

“ _WHAT_?!” they shouted at the same time.

“There's a bomb on Lance, I'm sending a scan now. You've got to tell me how to defuse it.” Keith scanned the device with his armor, pressing the holographic screen to send it their way. He then snatched Red's toolbox from the ground and dragged it over to Lance. There wasn't an extensive amount of room in Red's small cockpit, so Keith settled for sitting on Lance's legs, not thinking twice before straddling his hips.

Lance laughed, though it sounded forced. And somewhat hysterical. “What, not even going to buy me dinner first?”

“I'll buy you dinner once we get out of this,” Keith said., without thinking.“That's a promise. Pidge, how we doing?”

“This design is amazing!” she was saying. “The bomb is so small, but the blast radius is insane! It might be powerful enough to take Red out of commission, at _least_ for a decent amount of time if not entirely!”

Lance's face drained of color. “...What?”

“Pidge, this isn't the time to be admiring explosives,” Hunk reminded her with a nervous laugh. “We have to save Lance, right? We... we have to.”

“If it goes off... it'll kill both of us, won't it?” Lance's voice was so soft, it was a wonder any of them could hear it.

Pidge hesitated. “...Yes.”

Lance squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a slow breath. When he opened his eyes again, they were set with determination. “Okay. Keith, you know what we have to do then, right?”

Keith wasn't looking at him. “ _No_. Whatever you're suggesting, I don't want to hear it.”

“Keith, we don't have time to argue—”

“Then don't argue with me!” Keith looked back toward the projection, already holding a pair of pliers ready. “Which wire do I cut?!”

“Hang on, hang on, I'm still analyzing!”

“Keith, just toss me out into space! We can't risk losing _two_ pilots, and a lion!” Lance pointed out. “Please! You know I'm right!”

“Shut _up_ , Lance! Pidge, Hunk, we have no time!” Keith was beginning to panic, and their two teammates were still looking over the scans frantically.

“Keith, please! I... we just got you back, I can't let you die, too!” Lance didn't bother to try and stop the tears now. “Not ever, and especially not like this! Not when I could stop it! The team _needs_ you!”

“We're not going to die!” Keith was nearly shouting now, looking impossibly angry and terrified all at once. “And... and even if we do, you're worth it!”

“...What?”

“You're _worth_ two pilots and a lion!” Keith told him. “The team needs you, too!”

“I... Keith—!”

“Yellow, Keith! Yellow!” Hunk suddenly cried.

“Cut the yellow!” Pidge added, face pressed right against the screen.

Keith reached for the yellow wire with no hesitation, quickly cutting it in two. He and Lance both stared down at the bomb in horror as the beep droned on for the span of a few seconds before finally going silent.

The numbers on the timer didn't change.

There were four ticks left.

And before Keith could register anything else, Lance was hugging him, burying his head in Keith's shoulder. “We made it,” he whispered into his ear. Red was already flying them back to the castle.

Keith wasn't sure what made him do it. He pecked Lance on the cheek, mostly just to further assure himself that he was _still here_. That they both were.

Lance pulled back from the hug, blue eyes surprised yet... also somehow knowing. He lifted his hands to either side of Keith's face, smiling at him softly before pressing their lips together.

Pidge couldn't help it. She screamed.

“Ah. Finally,” Hunk said on the other end.

They didn't care. They were _alive_ , and after something like that, Lance thought there was cause for celebration.

Keith couldn't agree more, if the enthusiasm with which he returned the kisses were any indication.

“Uh. Guys? Guys!” Pidge tried to get their attention, to no avail. “Hello?! We're kind of all waiting for you at the castle, we were all really worried so... Keith? Lance? Um...”

“Let them have a moment,” Hunk told her.

Pidge scoffed. “Some bonding moment this is.” With that said, she turned the projection off.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written based on a [mini-comic](http://littlecofiegirl.tumblr.com/post/157161230316/i-promised-some-klance-so-here-is-some-klance) by @littlecofiegirl on tumblr, so make sure to check them out, as their blog has a lot of cool art! I hope you enjoyed!


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